A Healthy Team

A podiatrist... a teacher... a customer service representative... a couple high school /college students... a software developer... and several other everyday folks make up the worship team at NewPointe. You will not find one professional musician in the mix... and yet these folks come together every week to make some pretty happenin' music for all our environments. Pretty cool... huh? I love it! Believe me... they are some of the most dedicated volunteers that I have ever met. They absolutely inspire me every week. What is the secret to keeping volunteer musicians excited about their ministry? What are some things that we can do to energize them?

1. Constantly remind them of the fact that what they are doing is fulfilling the church's vision and mission. Newpointe's mission is "to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ".
2. Talk about (and reinforce) a set of values on a regular basis. Talk about things like excellence, spiritual growth, authenticity, evaluation, leadership, creativity, etc...
3. Give them training opportunities to grow and develop musically (both personally and as a team).
4. Give them music that is exciting, relevant and challenging to work with. Musicians will play whatever you put in front of them... but if they are not being challenged, they will get bored and find another place to serve. The most energizing experience for a vocalist/musician is to see and know that their music is connecting with the audience... and that it is changing people's lives.
5. Share stories of the awesome things that are happening in your church that are a direct result of their ministry. Encourage a positive atmosphere on your team. Negativity is a real momentum killer. Focus on "what is right in the world".
6. Leave margin for creative expression from the team. Be open to creative ideas that could improve the song.
7. Have fun! If your rehearsals are boring... you will have a hard time hanging on to really good musicians. A happy and fulfilled team is a healthy team. BTW: If you are doing boring music... you will have a really hard time hanging on to great musicians as well (And yes... there is a lot of boring church music out there - at least the way it is performed).

Well... there are so many more important dynamics to a healthy team of artists to talk about... but I'll just have to stop there. I am so blessed to have the opportunity to minister along side of some of the most talented and creative vocalists/musicians anywhere!

NewPointe Worship Team: YOU ROCK!